


The Kindergarten Teacher

by bittersweetrecovery



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Mommy!Lydia, Stydia, prompt, teacher!stiles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-29
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-15 05:10:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2216937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetrecovery/pseuds/bittersweetrecovery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia's five year old son cannot stop talking about how cool his new teacher, Mr. Stilinski is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start Of Something

**Author's Note:**

> Received following prompt through tumblr: Ok for a Stydia prompt: AU where Stiles is the cutie kindergarten teacher and Lydia is a single mommy and Stiles is just being adorable with her kid?
> 
> EDIT: Due to popular demand I've decided to make this a long fic.
> 
> I am stydiaokaybye on tumblr which is where I will post occasional updates on this fic and my other writing.

Ronan would not stop talking about his new teacher, Mr. Stilinski on the way home from kindergarten. It had been going on for over a week according to the boy's father who lived across town - he'd had Ronan stay with him for a whole week instead of just the weekend and this was the first time Lydia saw her child in seven days. But instead of talking about the adventures he'd been on with his father, he was talking about his teacher.

"And he was telling us these kind of scary stories about werewolves but not like bad and scary werewolves - they were cool and one had red eyes because he was the Alpha." Ronan with a genius-like intelligence like his mom emphasized with awe in his voice.

"Mom," Ronan's voice was careful. "You're going to like Mr. Stilinski." She took her eyes off the road for a second to look at the little red-haired boy in the passenger seat next to her.

"Oh yeah?" She smiled at him then turned her eyes back on the road.

"Yeah," he said almost shy.

The next day was parent/teacher conferences to discuss the child's competence and readiness for school. Lydia buckled up Ronan and left for the kindergarten where Ronan jumped out of the car immediately and ran inside so fast, Lydia could barely keep up with him as they made their way to the classroom.

"Mr. Stilinski!" Ronan yelled three feet away from the classroom. A dark-haired man in his early thirties looked up at the sound of his name and smiled when he saw the red-haired boy.

"Hey there, big guy," the man extending his clutched fist towards Ronan who bumped his own small one against the teacher's. His sole focus was on Ronan so he didn't even notice Lydia standing in the door way taking in the situation. Ronan had never really liked a teacher this much - he was always praised for his intelligence and he liked to feel appreciated for it but this was different - Lydia couldn't quite put her finger on it though.

"This is my Mommy," Ronan said at last gesturing towards Lydia. Mr. Stilinski turned his head in the direction of the doorway and Lydia was taken aback by just how young he looked. His dark hair was carefully combed so it still looked effortless, up close she noticed that his eyes weren't dark brown like she thought - they were light brown, amber even. Strong jawline, mole-covered cheeks, long lashes and a boyish grin as he extended his hand to her.

"Miss Martin," he said smile growing wider. "So nice to finally meet you. I had the pleasure of meeting Ronan's father last week but he won't stop talking about you."

"Does he ever stop talking?" Lydia asked, reciprocating his smile. The teacher gave a short laugh.

"Not really. I'm Stiles Stilinski, by the way. Forgot to introduce myself."

"Teacher extraordinaire I've been told." Was this flirting? It felt like flirting but since the day Ronan was born she hadn't flirted or even tried to. She had too much else going on between Ronan and work.

"Well," Mr. Stilinski said. "Let's start, please take a seat." He gestured towards the chairs on the opposite side of his desk. Ronan, who wasn't particularly tall even for his age, climbed into the chair on the right as Lydia placed herself in the one to the left. Stilinski flipped through Ronan's file quickly with a pen in his mouth, finally he turned his attention not to Lydia but to Ronan.

"So," he started. "You're an intelligent young man..." Before he could continue Ronan interrupted.

"I know. I got it from Mom though she still has her intelligence, I didn't take it from her. How high is your IQ again, Mom?"

"170." Stiles Stilinski's eyes widened for a second, Lydia offered a shy smile.

"Well, you're certainly ready to go to school and learn some new things however-" his gaze shifted from Ronan to Lydia. "I'm not sure it will be challenging enough for Ronan, he might end up being bored with the material or problems he will be presented with. I can't rule out skipping a couple of grades but there's still six months left in kindergarten and a lot can happen in that timespan so we'll look at it a little closer to the end of the year. Is that okay with you?"

"That sounds reasonable," she agreed. The teacher shifted his focus back to Ronan and spent the rest of the parent/teacher conference talking about his social skills which were almost perfect and about his inability to keep his mouth closed when it needed to be. Ronan cut off Mr. Stilinski every other sentence with a little anecdote about the subject they were talking about and by the end of the session, all three people in the room were smiling. Ronan gave Mr. Stilinski a high five and raced to meet his good friend Albert who was standing on the playground waiting for his parents.

"There's fire in him," the teacher said following Lydia to the door. Lydia nodded slowly and met Stiles Stilinski's eyes as she'd done many times within the last half hour - even though his attention had been on Ronan, she'd caught him looking at her and she wasn't innocent herself. He was incredibly handsome and the way he interacted with Ronan was wonderful.

"There is," she finally said. "He got that from his father." Stiles looked hesitant.

"You're not together anymore? If you don't mind me asking, I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my boundaries."

"It's okay," she reassured him. "Ronan's father and I were never really together but it's still important to me that Ronan gets to see him."

"That seems like a healthy approach." Lydia smiled.

"Well, it works so we must be doing something right." They stood in silence for a while before Mr. Stilinski broke it.

"Well, I'll order the IQ test for Ronan and get back to you okay? Is there a number I can call you at when I know for sure?" Lydia scribbled down her number and handed the lap of paper to him.

"Thank you," he said, shy smile. "I'll see you soon, Miss Martin."

"Just Lydia from now on, okay?"

"Okay, then I'm just Stiles."


	2. Before I Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles calls Lydia with information about the IQ test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! I hope you guys like this chapter which was written in a more rested state of mind (I was severely sleep-deprived when I wrote the first one but apparently that paid off.)
> 
> Follow me on tumblr for updates and occasional snippets, my url is stydiaokaybye :-)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Stiles Stilinski called Lydia a couple of days later while she was at work.

“Hello?” She answered pressing the phone between her shoulder and ear as she poured coffee into the two cups before her.

“It’s Stiles,” his soft voice spoke. “Uh Stilinski – Ronan’s teacher.”

“Oh yeah,” she said. “Hi.” She picked up the coffee cups and walked to a table where she handed one to her colleague.

“I hope I haven’t interrupted you in the middle of something important.” Lydia smiled at his politeness.

“Don’t worry, I’m on my break. What’s up?”

“I booked an IQ test for Ronan next week with the specialist connected to this school district. She was a little apprehensive about testing a five year old but I convinced her that the sooner we know, the better we will be prepared to look for signs such as boredom once he starts school in the fall.”

“I have to say, I’m relieved that it’ll be so soon. Can I be there?” Allison was observing her while sipping her coffee and fiddling with the newspaper in front of her. Lydia glared at her to mind her own business but Allison just sent a mischievous smile.

“Of course. Ronan’s father can be there too if he likes,” Stiles said on the other end.

“I’ll ask him. So when exactly is the appointment?”

“On Monday at 11 am, I hope that’s not an issue.” Did he sound hopeful? Lydia thought about it for a second.

“I happen to have Monday off actually, so it’s not a problem at all.” Lydia took a sip of her coffee and looked at Allison again whose dimples were so deep you could practically see the indentations of her teeth. Lydia didn’t know why she was grinning.

“I’ll see you then.” They said their goodbyes and Lydia could finally hang up the phone. She took another sip of her coffee and began to read her own newspaper but pretty soon it became impossible to focus on it – she could feel Allison grin at her. She sighed and looked up at her colleague who also happened to be her best friend.

“What?”

“Who is he?”

“Who?”

“That guy on the phone.”

“Ronan’s new teacher.” Allison raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Why is he calling you?”

“To let me know when Ronan’s IQ test is.” Now Allison furrowed her brows.

“Ronan’s getting his IQ tested?”

“I told you that two days ago,” Lydia said. “Weren’t you listening?”

“I’m sorry,” Allison said. “I’ve been busy these last few days and having time to properly prepare for classes has been difficult, my mind was elsewhere.” Lydia and Allison met three years ago when Allison came to the college to teach European History and they became instant friends; she adored Ronan which made it even better. Lydia herself taught physics – she’d wanted to be a scientist but when she found out she was pregnant she made different arrangements to take care of Ronan as best as she could while he was young. But maybe later, when he was older, she’d go after her dreams but right now Ronan was her main priority – everything else was secondary. Ronan’s father, Jordan Parrish, was a deputy at the Sheriff's Department in Beacon Hills and was in line to be the next Sheriff once the current one retired and he simply didn’t have a lot of time to spend with his son which was why Lydia was the single parent. They had gone out about a handful of times and one of those dates resulted in Ronan. When Lydia told him about the pregnancy he’d been shocked but respected all of her choices and actually hadn’t minded that she decided to keep the child as long as he got to see him on weekends – Lydia considered their arrangement healthy because they were on good terms and didn’t fight over Ronan.

“We all stress out sometimes, it’s okay,” Lydia said and put a reassuring hand on Allison’s arm. “We should get to our classes.”

\--- 

“Mom!” Ronan ran over to give her hug as she came into the room; she sank down to his level and accepted the hug. She ruffled his red hair as he let go and they approached Jordan who was already there and she thanked the universe that he was wearing civilian clothes as opposed to his uniform. She gave him a short hug and approached Stiles Stilinski who was standing a little away from the three of them. She extended her hand to him.

“Stiles,” she said, shy smile.

“Lydia.” He smiled back. She dropped his hand as the woman who would be in charge of Ronan’s test came into the room and introduced herself as Maria Dalton to Lydia and Jordan then bent down to Ronan to introduce herself to him. Maria quickly explained the test to them even though Lydia knew the process well as she had taken her own test when she was sixteen deeming her an IQ of 170.

“Your Mom and Dad will be right outside, okay Ronan?” Stiles asked.

“Okay, bring it on,” he said to Maria with a confident grin on his face. Jordan, Lydia and Stiles left the room and as soon as they did Stiles disappeared down the hall to the teacher’s lounge. A silence hung in the air between Lydia and Jordan as they sat besides each other in the chairs outside.

“You’re on first name basis with the teacher?”

“He told me to just call him by his first name at the parents/teacher conference last week that you didn’t attend by the way. You said you wanted to be there.” He finally looked at her.

“I called you and said I got caught up at work, I’m sorry.” Lydia knew her bitterness was misplaced.

“I know,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here today though – Ronan needs his Dad here for this.” Jordan agreed. They sat in silence again and Stiles returned just as Maria Dalton came out of the classroom with Ronan tagging behind her. Maria explained how the test went and that Mr. Stilinski had been right to order the test for him at such an early age.

“My evaluation is that he has an IQ of approximately 145 which makes him a genius and I advice you to keep a good eye on him, make sure he’s challenged enough in his education and if he isn’t then maybe skip some grades but that is up to teachers and you of course.” They were all given a copy of his test results, even Ronan who proclaimed that he was now the smartest person in the universe and proudly showed his results to Stiles who smiled and gave him a high five as Ronan explained that the test wasn't even that hard. Stiles looked up at Lydia and their eyes locked, sealed with a shy smile that seemed to be happening more often than not despite only having met twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Melissa who commented and asked if I'd made a Parrish reference which I kind of did without realizing it. It fit perfectly and I could see him as the father of Ronan, so thank you!


	3. The Curious Incident of Stiles and a Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia drops Ronan off at the Sheriff's station so he can spend the weekend with his father and while there she bumps into a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends.
> 
> I'm sorry for the long wait on this chapter but school has been keeping me busy and I injured my back the other day so doing any sort of movement is just painful and it still is. However I have endured my pain and written this chapter for you guys.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Daddy!” Ronan yelled as soon as his father came into view. Jordan smiled wide, stood from his seat and let Ronan jump into his arms. Jordan lifted him with ease.

“Hey there, buddy.” Ronan loved when Lydia dropped him off at the station because it meant he got to see ‘all the cool people with guns’. Lydia had tried to tell Ronan that guns weren’t that cool and they could seriously hurt someone but Dad carried a gun and he was cool. No argument. Ronan: 1, Lydia: 0. She smiled as Jordan put their son down on the ground again and approached his desk; Ronan was on his heels and used another chair to climb onto the desk where he planted his butt solidly.

“Did you catch any bad guys today?” Jordan smiled up at him.

“Can’t say I have buddy. But maybe we’ll catch some bad guys later when we watch a m…”

“You are not watching a cop movie. Forget it.”

“Aw Mommy, why not?” Lydia was about to answer that last time Ronan and his father had watched a cop movie, she had been the one who had to deal with the nightmares of people shooting other people – Ronan might be smart but he was also sensitive. However Lydia didn’t get the chance to say any of it before a familiar voice shot through the desk area of the Sheriff’s station.

“Leila, it’s been eight years not a century and I haven’t changed that mu… Lydia?” Stiles stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Lydia standing in the middle of the room. Lydia’s jaw dropped to the floor because he was the absolute last person she’d expected to see at the station.

“Stiles,” she said slowly. “What are you doing here?” Ronan was too occupied with staring at the computer screen that he hadn’t noticed his favorite teacher walking through the door. Jordan looked at them with a sideways glance. Stiles walked closer as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“I uh, came to see my Dad. He’s the Sheriff.” And as if on cue Sheriff Stilinski came out of his office with a bright smile on his face at the sight of his son. Lydia had not made the connection between the last names and suddenly it bothered her. She should have made the connection, she always did.

“Son!” The Sheriff said as he embraced Stiles. “I’m glad you decided to stop by.” Stiles smiled up at him with love and respect as they let go of each other. The Sheriff turned to Lydia and his smile grew impossibly wider.

“Lydia. Have you met my son, Stiles?” Lydia sent a warm smile back.

“We’ve met.” The Sheriff looked confused. “Stiles is Ronan’s teacher,” she explained.

“Oh, then you know Parrish,” the Sheriff said pointing to his deputy who was pre-occupied making sure his son, who looked at things with his fingers not his eyes, didn’t mess up any important documents or files.

“Yes,” said Stiles. “Did not know he was a deputy though.”

“I hired him around your second year of college and you haven’t been here since so it’s not a surprise. Let me just go say hi to Ronan.” Sheriff Stilinski wandered off to his deputy’s desk and said hello to Ronan whose face lit up immediately – everyone loved Ronan.

“So,” Stiles said not a trace of intelligence in his voice but how could there be? He said so.

“You really haven’t been to the station since your second year of college?” Stiles looked grateful that she started the conversation.

“I haven’t been back in Beacon Hills since my second year. I was lucky enough to get a job right out of college so I just stayed and it was always Dad who flew out to see me and not the other way around.” Lydia nodded and took in the scene at Jordan’s desk. He was sitting in his chair smiling up at Ronan who had launched into a story about Harry Potter which were his favorite books – Mommy had read them to him when he was younger and he didn’t think they were scary at all just really cool. He really wanted a wand and thought he would be sorted into Ravenclaw because he was smart or maybe Hufflepuff because he was kind. Sheriff Stilinski looked beyond confused but smiled and nodded nonetheless.

“Your Dad adores him,” Lydia finally said.

“Yeah,” Stiles breathed. “I think he misses having a kid running around the house.”

“I would gladly let him babysit if he wants because trust me, Ronan does not stop running – how it’s possible for one person to have that much energy I don’t know.” Stiles smiled.

“He would love to babysit sometime, I’m sure,” Stiles hesitated. “So delivering or picking up?” He asked.

“Delivering. Ronan is staying with his Dad this weekend.” Stiles seemed to be contemplating her answer and debating something inside his head – she could practically hear the wheels turning inside there weighing out the pros and cons.

“Jordan,” she called. He looked over. “I’m going to get his things in the car, I’ll be back in a minute.” Jordan nodded his okay. She turned around and walked out to her car in the parking lot where she found Ronan’s backpack in the backseat filled to the rim with books of his own choice. She smiled when she noticed he’d brought her old collection of Harry Potter books. They were falling apart but Ronan insisted that he didn’t need new ones. When she came back she said hello to Leila, the front desk officer, and entered the desk area again. She stood next to Stiles who seemed to be building up courage for something. He was looking at her in a way that she’d never been looked at before, his amber eyes rested on her features with tenderness and he took a leap of faith and asked…

“Are you free this weekend?”


	4. A Piece of Friendly Advice from Scott to Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has to cancel guy's night with Scott but Scott stops by anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter. Okay, I don't hate it, hate it, I mean, I feel like it's necessary but it feels irrelevant and the writing is horrific. Don't have too high expectations.
> 
> I'm leaving for Andalusia on Saturday but I hope to post another chapter before then or maybe schedule one, I'm not sure.
> 
> Remember the best way to talk to me about the fic outside the comments is on tumblr where I am stydiaokaybye.

**Stiles' POV**

 

“What are you doing here?” Stiles asked when he answered his apartment door only to find Scott on the other side of it. Scott’s face fell but he still pushed his way past Stiles and into the small apartment on the third floor. Stiles closed the door behind his best friend and followed him into the living area.

“Tonight is guy’s night, remember? We talked about this weeks ago.” Scott placed his butt on the couch and opened one of the beers he’d brought.

“Yes but do you remember that I called you yesterday? Told you I had to cancel, there should be a bell going off in your head right now.” Scott looked confused.

“I remember we talked but honestly,” he took a sip. “I don’t remember what about, Kira was cooking only wearing a t-shirt and underw…”

“Jesus Scott, I don’t want to know that.” Stiles said covering his ears as if he'd heard a loud unbearable noise. Scott grinned and took another long sip of his beer. Stiles finally joined him on the couch and grabbed a beer for himself.

“So why exactly is guy’s night a no go?” Stiles pictured Lydia in his mind – he pictured her hair which wasn’t red like it’d seemed when they first met but more strawberry blonde than anything else. Her eyes were green and he remembered the special kind of light in them when she looked at her son, and her smile made his heart race. He felt pathetic, like a schoolboy with a crush.

“I have a date.” Scott choked on his beer and almost spit all of it out.

“WHAT?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, dude.” Stiles said with a wry smile knowing his best friend didn’t mean it like that, Scott still looked apologetic though.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you but you found someone from here? From Beacon Hills.” Stiles nodded slowly taking a sip from his beer.  “I didn’t know there were any datable girls left in Beacon Hills.”

“Well, we can't all have Kira, now can we?" Stiles teased. "She’s not originally from here, I think.”

“Who is she?” Stiles smiled.

“Her name’s Lydia. Unbelievably beautiful.”

“How’d you meet?” Stiles scratched the back of his head knowing Scott would think he was insane.

“She uh has a son.” Scott’s eyes widened.

“She’s the mother of one of your kids? Isn’t it slightly inappropriate to go on a date with a parent whose kid you teach?” Stiles thought about it and came to the same conclusion although it felt terrible. He wanted to go out with Lydia and badly – after all she had agreed when the shock had passed from the expression in her eyes. Stiles sighed.

“Damn you and your morals.” They sat in silence as Stiles contemplated how he should tell Lydia that the date was now off even though he’d been the one to initiate it and he was excited about it. The flirting had been subtle but there and it made him feel like there was a real chance for them and besides, he adored Ronan and Ronan seemed to like Stiles too. But there were more complications than just the fact that Stiles was Ronan’s teacher. Ronan’s father happened to be a deputy working for Stiles’ father and if Stiles officially started dating Lydia, he would have to look at Ronan’s Dad every time he went to the station. Stiles decided to tell Scott about it and he listened to everything Stiles had to say on the matter – after he finished talking, Scott was quiet for a while.

“I think you should go.” Stiles jaw dropped to the floor in shock. Hadn’t Scott been the one to preach his morals just ten minutes ago? Telling him that it was morally incorrect and now telling him it was okay? But before Stiles had the opportunity to protest, Scott spoke.

“You said they aren’t together, Lydia and the father, and they never really were so I honestly don’t see the problem. Besides her kid is so young and you’ll only teach him for about six months and then he’ll start proper school. Sometimes you have to do what’s morally incorrect to get what’s right for you.” Stiles jaw dropped closer to the ground, still not believing the words coming out of his friend’s mouth. Stiles put his hand on Scott’s forehead like Melissa used to do when they were kids and the boys pretended to be sick so they could play video games all day.

“I think you have a fever,” Stiles said grinning. “I’m calling an ambulance.” Stiles half stood up but sat back down immediately and laughed along with Scott.

“Seriously though,” Scott said after a few minutes. “I just want you to be happy, dude. And you haven’t been with anyone since Malia and that was like three years ago. Admit it, you were miserable in Boston and that’s why you came home.” Stiles had met Malia on his first day of college and it was attraction at first sight – not long had passed before they were in a committed relationship based on insane attraction and too many disagreements. The relationship ended in a state of fury on both parts and the pair had not spoken since.

“So this father of her son, he hot?” Stiles shoved Scott and they laughed together.

“He’s not bad-looking but older than her like five-six years or something. He’s a deputy, my father’s preferred one actually and next in line for the Sheriff title.”

“How old is she?”

“28-29 or something like that, I’m not sure. I actually don’t know that much about her which is what I’m going to try to change tonight. Get to know her a little bit better, like I don’t even know what she does or where she works though Ronan did mention she went to her own school, so maybe she teaches.” Stiles said it so fast that Scott had barely understood a word of what Stiles said and the hand gestures were distracting.

“And you talk when you start to get nervous,” Scott stated with a slight smile. “You’re nervous.”

“Scott, I really like this girl and I’m just going to screw it up. You should see her, she’s way out of my league – smart, funny, brilliant mother from what I can tell and drop dead gorgeous if I might say so myself. I’m just a teacher.”

“And for all you know so is she,” Scott said. “She’s gonna love you.” Stiles crooked his eyebrow up.

“Well obviously she already likes you since she agreed to a date, I’m just saying that it could turn into more. Kira and I…”

“You and Kira have been together since high school,” Stiles said. “I hardly think those rules apply to people in their late twenties.” And with childish attitude Scott stuck his tongue out at Stiles just like he’d done when they were kids.


	5. You Are In Love - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles picks up Lydia at her house and their date begins - somehow Lydia feels strangely comfortable despite not having been on an actual date since she was pregnant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was feeling very inspired because Taylor Swift's new album was released this Monday and I've been listening to it on repeat. Thank that album for this chapter. And I actually took my time and edited this chapter before posting so there should be less missing words and grammatical errors.
> 
> Remember you can contact me on tumblr (stydiaokaybye) to talk about this fic or anything you like :)

“Wow,” Stiles said when Lydia opened the door for him. The comment was cliché but for a minute she allowed to live in the fairy tale she’d loved reading about when she was a kid – the stories she was now reading to Ronan. She blushed and that didn’t happen often.

“I’m assuming that’s a good thing?” She teased. She knew it was good from the baffled look on his face, he shook his head as if to bring him back to reality.

“You look amazing,” he said offering a smile. Lydia had spent all day looking through her pre-pregnancy dresses to see if there was anything among them that was even remotely presentable and that she could squeeze into. Despite having lost all the weight she gained during the pregnancy some of the fat and muscles had shifted positions so her hips were wider though not by much. She had been sad about it for a while as she had to acquire an entirely new wardrobe but had eventually accepted it. She had found a dark green dress in textured fabric with zippers on the skirt that surprisingly fit her. Lydia stepped outside and closed to door behind her.

“You’re not going to lock the door?” Stiles asked nervously. “I don’t want someone to rob you and Ronan.” She smiled at his concern.

“My friend, Allison, is inside, she helped me get ready. I haven’t been on a date in very long time so I’m kind of rusty and didn’t know what was appropriate to wear.” They walked side by side towards Stiles car which turned out to be a jeep. Lydia raised an eyebrow.

“A jeep? Really?”

“Hey,” Stiles said and bumped her shoulder. “This jeep is my most priced possession - I’ve had her since high school.”

“Should I be jealous?” Lydia teased as Stiles held the door open for her.

“No,” he closed the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. Lydia caught Allison staring at them from the window of Lydia's small house, a grin attached to her face. When Stiles wasn’t looking Lydia sent Allison a thumb up and received one in return. She chuckled and made Stiles look over with a quizzical expression.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” she smiled. Stiles backed out of the driveway and made his way through Beacon Hills. They were silent, only the radio broke it but Lydia didn’t mind – the silence felt comfortable and natural which was surely a good sign. Awkward silences were not good she knew from experience – especially with students who were shy or afraid to ask a question because they were embarrassed that they didn’t already know the answer. She shook the thought of work out of her head and looked at the man beside her. Despite being around thirty years old Stiles looked as if he were in the beginning of his twenties. She wondered what were behind those deep and thoughtful eyes, she wondered what made him decide to become a kindergarten teacher when he seemed to have capabilities beyond that – for all Lydia knew he could have been a rocket scientist with the intelligence she knew hid beneath that somewhat immature exterior. She hoped to find some answers tonight and though she’d spent a long time convincing herself that she wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, she couldn’t help but wonder if it could work out.

Lydia had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Stiles parking the car and coming around to open the car door for her. He cleared his throat and Lydia snapped back to reality – she noticed the worry in his eyes.

“You okay?” He asked offering her his hand. She took it and climbed out of the jeep. “If you’re not feeling well, we can do this some other time.” She shook her head.

“I’m good, just spaced out for a minute,” she smiled. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied and offered her his arm. She linked in her own arm and they headed into the restaurant where a waiter led them to their table and asked what they would like to drink.

“How’s Ronan?” Stiles asked once the waiter had gotten them their drinks. _A good place to start_ , Lydia thought, something they had in common.

“He’s good. He and Jordan are having movie night with cop films even though I specifically told Jordan not to show him those. If Ronan jappers on about something long enough, you eventually give in just to get him to shut up.”

“He does talk a lot,” Stiles said and sipped his wine. Lydia nodded.

“So what about you?” She asked.

“What about me?”

“Are you from here? Where did you go to college? What made you choose to become a kindergarten teacher?” Stiles chuckled to himself and sent a glance across the table.

“That’s a lot of questions in one,” he noted. “Tell you what. You can ask me one question, I’ll answer and then I ask you one. We’ll go back and forth.”

“You have yourself a deal,” she said. “I’ll begin. Are you from Beacon Hills?” Stiles nodded.

“Bred, born and raised. My father’s family have always lived in Beacon Hills, my mother moved here with her family when she was sixteen. My parents met shortly after and they were together until she died.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lydia said sympathetically.

“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “It's been so long since it happened that I eventually came to terms with it and that I couldn't change it. My turn to ask. Where did you go to college?”

“I went to Harvard. Double majored in Chemistry and Mathematics, minored in Physics. I was going to be a scientist but I got pregnant almost immediately after I graduated so I took classes to get my teaching degree instead,” she explained. “I wanted to be able to spend time with Ronan and the teaching job gives me reasonable hours to make that happen.”

“Wait what?” Stiles said. “You went to college in Boston?”

“Yeah,” Lydia said with a frown. “Why?”

“I went to college in Boston, too. Not Harvard but MIT – computer science major.” Lydia smiled.

“We had crazy majors and both chose to teach. Why kindergarten though?” Stiles shrugged.

“I like to believe I can teach them a few life lessons before they’re sent off to school and have their confidence stripped away from them. Our education system is a little screwed so maybe I can better equip these kids to go on.”

“That’s a very nice thought,” Lydia said, shy smile. “You’re doing a good job especially with Ronan – he adores you.”

“Thank you,” Stiles breathed. He looked at her with an expression Lydia couldn’t quite discern but a slight smile played around his lips. Lydia blushed and looked down at her plate feeling shy under his stare.

 

_TO BE CONTINUED_

 


	6. You Are In Love - Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia feels like she's been transported back to high school as she and Stiles finish their date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Busy, busy, busy is what I am. College is taking over my life and that means less time for writing but this chapter has been done for a couple of days I was just too lazy to edit. Anyway, it's here now. Enjoy!
> 
> You can talk to me on tumblr over at stydiaokaybye

Their food arrived and they spent much of the night telling funny anecdotes and stories from their time in Boston and how strange it was that they’d been so close to each other yet never met. Lydia knew that if they had met in Boston and then again in Beacon Hills, it would have to the craziest coincidence in the world but it made her happy somehow. Then, halfway through the meal, Lydia asked the one question she’d sworn to herself not to ask because she didn’t want to know but curiosity ate away at her.

“Have you been in any serious relationships?” The mental slap Lydia gave herself was hard. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about and yet here she was asking about it on a first date that could potentially lead to more and she wanted more dates.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I did not mean to ask that, it just kind of happened. We don’t have to talk about it.” To Lydia’s surprise Stiles was smiling.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s only fair that you ask since I know about Jordan.”

“That’s different,” she argued. “We were never serious.” Stiles raised an eyebrow.

“Lydia, you have a child together. In my book that’s serious even though you were never actually together – I bet you see him more than you see any of your other exes.”

“How do you know I have other exes?” The question was teasing; an attempt to take him by surprise but it didn’t seem to work. It was as if he saw right through her and while she was used to having her guard up – he made his way through it and there was nothing Lydia could do about it.

“You don’t?”

“Yeah, I do,” she said. They both sipped their wine and it looked like Stiles was building up to tell her about a former lover that still felt like an open wound. He sucked in a breath and finally spoke.

“I met Malia on the first day of college. The attraction was instant and it lasted for a while but we argued, _a lot_. We couldn’t agree about anything and in the end that’s why we broke up. I haven’t talked to her or seen her in three years.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Stiles smiled.

“It was for the best.” Lydia nodded and didn’t say anything for a while. She really didn’t know what she was supposed to say, she’d never discussed exes with anyone but Allison and occasionally Ronan when he asked why she and Dad didn’t live together like his friends’ parents did.

“What does Ronan want to be when he’s older?” Lydia smiled, grateful for the change of conversation topic – it was easier to talk about Ronan.

“A cop,” she said with a chuckle. “Just like his Dad.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Stiles said. “I also wanted to be a cop when I was five, just like Dad.”

“You wanted to be a cop?” Stiles nodded.

“I even enrolled in the academy when I graduated high school but my Dad put his foot down – told me that if I wanted to be a cop, I had to go to college first. Apparently, I was too young.”

“You can’t blame him,” said Lydia. “You’re his only son, you were eighteen. He just wanted to keep you safe, that’s perfectly natural. I feel the same way about Ronan. When he gets older, I want him to do whatever he wants but if he enrolls in the academy at eighteen I’d be worried. He wouldn’t have a degree to fall back on – not that he has to go to college if he doesn’t want to, I don’t want him to feel pressured.” Stiles remained quiet and stared at her with that look in his eyes as if she was an alien object but he was smiling.

“You’re a good mother,” he finally stated. Lydia was touched; it was something that she often doubted. She wanted to be the best parent that she could be but having a kid at twenty-four was overwhelming. She was grateful that Ronan had begun to spend more time with his father because that meant Lydia had time to herself and then there were the times when she cursed herself for feeling relieved when he wasn’t around.

“So why didn’t you go to the academy when you finished college?” Lydia asked to lead her thoughts in a different direction – she didn’t want to be sad and filled with self-doubt on a date.

“I’ve always wanted to be a detective – solve puzzles, figure things out, catch the bad guy. I admired my Dad so much, I even dressed up as him for Halloween three years in a row, my Mom took pictures and my Dad has all of them framed on the wall back home. Then I went to college, studied Computer Science because it was the only thing I was really good at. My Dad and his wife Melissa had a daughter while I was attending and I adore her – she’s a little older than Ronan. Melissa commented that I was good with kids and they seemed to like me so I decided to become a kindergarten teacher. That way I also save my father a lot of worrying about whether or not I’d be killed on the job.” Lydia was speechless. Lydia could relate to worry she knew Sheriff would be feeling if Stiles was a cop. She worried about Jordan; she didn’t want Ronan to grow up without a father and despite everything, they had learned to be friends for the sake of their son.

“You’re good with kids if that’s any source of comfort.” Stiles smiled at her and they ordered dessert.

 

The drive home was quiet but not awkward, just like the drive there. As Stiles parked the car in her driveway, she felt like was back in high school. She felt like that sixteen year old girl who’d been on a date with the guy she’d had a crush on for ages – she was nervous as they got out of the car and he walked her to the her front door. The lights were on inside so that meant Allison was still here – she probably wanted to know everything. Stiles and Lydia stopped in front of the door.

“Thank you,” she said. “For tonight. It was nice to get out the house for a while.” Stiles shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

“I’m glad you decided to come.” Lydia shivered under her coat. “You’re freezing.”

“Well,” she said and smiled. “It _is_ January.” He took both of her hands in his. While hers were cold and felt like ice cubes, his were burning hot as if he’d held them close to a fire. He lifted her hands up to her mouth and blew hot air on them – it was intimate and sweet. Lydia was happy that the darkness hid the blush that laced her cheeks and neck.

“I feel like a teenager again,” she mumbled with a shy smile playing on her lips. Stiles gave a short laugh and squeezed her hands slightly. His brown eyes found her green ones and they stood there in silence – Lydia felt the butterflies flap around in her stomach and it hurt with anticipation. She wanted him to kiss her, she wanted to know what his lips felt like on hers and if it felt as right as standing with him there on the front steps of her house. And then it happened. He pressed his lips gently to hers, the knot in Lydia’s stomach tightened but not in a bad way. Stiles hand cupped her cheek, he pulled her closer to him and put his other hand on her back to hold her steady. When they finally pulled away from each other, she was out of breath, smiling and laughing a little from the thrill of it. Stiles remained quiet. He then kissed her cheek and almost whispered “goodnight, Lydia.” He then turned around and walked to his car and drove away. Lydia stepped inside her house, leaned against the door and breathed out. Allison came into the hallway and leaned against the staircase with a smile plastered to her face.

“So,” she said. “How was it?” Lydia smiled widely.

“Amazing.”


End file.
